Legalize it or not? It's one of the big discussions going on in this country today and will impact everyone, especially the younger generation. So the question is, when weighed out, is it more beneficial or bad for your health? Lets look at some of the pros and cons.
Marijuana is one of the most commonly used drugs though it can also be one of the more easily detected drugs. Nearly everyone who rejects the legalization of Marijuana is biased towards it because of some outside source impacting them, even false teaching. Nearly everywhere you go, schools especially, they say how Marijuana is a killer and describe it in very harsh words, using rumors as facts.
Well the fact is, most of the rumors spread about this substance are totally false.
-"Marijuana kills more brain cells than alcohol."
True? No. There are no proven studies that show that THC, the substance in Marijuana causing the high effect, kills brain cells. The closest study to this was memory loss, and still it is unproven.
-"Marijuana is highly addictive" - Marijuana has nothing like cigarettes have, called Nicotine. anyone can grow an addiction to anything. What is the other huge problem the world is facing today - obesity. What causes obesity? Well, it many cases, people become dependant(or ADDICTED) on/to food. So yes, anyone can theoretically become addicted to Marijuana, but the risk of addiction is the same if not less than the risk of become addicted to chicken or broccoli.
Another huge, very misunderstood myth is psychological side effects. Schools, police, parents, everyone - teach that marijuana will make you go crazy. I wish I was there to say to these people and organizations, where is the evidence? There is none. Pulling someone with dementia off the street and asking if they've ever smoked a joint isn't research. It's not even coincidence. Almost everyone has used or will use Marijuana some time in their life, or at least run into someone using it, so even if 1,000 of the 50,000 users have some illness, this doesn't mean that there's any relationship. People with illness want to have a good time too. Maybe they're trying to escape the illness they harbor.
The myth that gets me absolutely steaming pissed is: Marijuana causes more damage to your lungs than cigarettes, cigars, or other legal smokes. This is 100% false.
There is a fine line between smoking marijuana and getting high off of it.
Smoking, obviously, no matter what it is your smoking, whether it be Marijuana, cigarettes, or anything, is going to cause lung damage. So yes, if you SMOKE marijuana, the smoke can cause more damage than cigarettes because you may not use a filter. But this goes for anything. Marijuana isn't hurting your lungs. Smoke is.
The use of vaporizers would totally eliminate this, since there's nothing to damage your lungs, so what will the ACDE make up now? There should be much more public advertising of vaporizers for medical marijuana users.
What would legalizing Marijuana do, many poeople argue, and how will it help. Well, in many ways it would help. Marijuana is one of the most called for items on the black market. Everyone runs into pot sometime in their life; it's a multi-million probably even billion dollar business. So what would happen? The economy would probably boost within days. Every dime spent on weed (billions a year) could now go to the government, who badly needs money, as everyone can see. It may work for the government in other ways too, potentially slowing the black market, with such a less need for the drugs. Of course, it will still exist (I'm sure there'll be cheaper prices if you buy illegally), but it definately would eliminate most, and the drug lords of South America will lose a substantial amount. There are also so many other smaller ways it will help the government, so why would they not legalize it? Many argue, well the US would collapse with everyone smoking a joint on every corner. Not necessarily. Legalizing the drug for use doesn't mean they can't ban public use. Even if they had restrictions to on private property only, or something along those lines. It doesn't make much sense why they wouldn't and don't. I do think that the chain of states beginning to legalize Marijuana for medical use is a start, a slow start, but still a start.
Many people also bring up driving, and there's a simple answer to it. If alcohol is legal, and people drive, then whats's different about Marijuana? Studies show that one glass of wine impair your driving more than a joint anyway. And being drunk and high are so different. While drunk, your body is physically impaired. While high, the effects are different, and if compared, one would drive better while high than drunk anyway.
With so many unproven rumors and myths about this drug, and no substantial evidence to prove any of it, all there is to do is wait for research to flood in and let the answers uncover.
ADD:
Comments have brung upon great new points, one particularly I forgot that I meant to add was criminal elements. Imagine how much money the US would save on drug confiscations, patrol for drug cartels, etc. MILLIONS of dollars saved JUST on general patrol of the drug. Now, even deeper than that, imagine how much violence it would reduce. Drug deals gone wrong, people dead and/or robbed, cops shot; all these incidences related to Marijuana busts or cartels would be eliminated.
And yet another point - What is America KNOWN for. What is everything we take pride in? FREEDOM. If this country is truly FREE, why can't we use one of mother natures best gifts? Why is it banned from purchase? Why is something that could be so useful, in so many ways, illegal? And why is America called free if they choose to make it illegal?
References include:
http://www.perkel.com/...
http://www.drugpolicy.org/...
http://legalizationofmarijuana.com/...
http://en.wikipedia.org/...
Many thanks to these articles and authors!